This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units often include an evaporator, a heater core, and a temperature control door. The evaporator, when activated, has the effect of cooling airflow that passes therethrough. The heater core, when activated, heats airflow passing therethrough. The temperature control door is typically arranged to control airflow from the evaporator through and around the heater core. For example, the temperature control door can be arranged to direct a portion of airflow from the evaporator around the heater core, and another portion of airflow from the evaporator through the heater core. In such an air-mix mode, airflow that has bypassed the heater core mixes with airflow that has passed through the heater core at some point in the HVAC unit downstream of the heater core in order to generate airflow of a relatively moderate temperature. To facilitate mixing of the relatively warm airflow that has passed through the heater core with the relatively cool airflow that has bypassed the heater core, HVAC units sometimes include vanes and/or baffles, which are helpful to mix the airflow, but often degrade performance of the HVAC unit by decreasing the cross-sectional area of the airflow path downstream of the heater core. It would thus be desirable to have an HVAC unit that facilitates mixing of airflow that has passed through the heater core with airflow that has bypassed the heater core without degrading HVAC performance. The present teachings advantageously include an HVAC unit that facilitates mixing of airflow downstream of the heater core while maintaining overall HVAC performance throughout various HVAC modes, such as an air-mix mode, a maximum cooling mode, and a maximum heating mode.